Xie Yang is a Hunan-based human rights lawyer who represented the family of Xu Chunhe, a man shot dead by police in Heilongjiang Province in May 2015. He has also represented those involved in the New Citizens' Movement, the Chinese Democracy Party, Christians and victims of land grabs.

Chinese HRDs face intimidation, harassment, house arrest, abductions, torture and imprisonment. They also work under very restrictive legislation, including laws which criminalize all unauthorized demonstrations and require government sponsorship for NGO registration, which is refused to any organisation touching on human rights issues. Widescale investigations into NGOs with links to overseas organisations took place in 2014 and 2015 resulting in harassment, detentions and forced closures.